Dolls and toy figures have enjoyed great popularity for an extended period of time and have been enjoyed by children of a very broad age range. The long term and extended range of popularity for such dolls and toy figures has prompted practitioners in the art to create a virtually endless variety of dolls and toy figures. Many of the dolls and toy figures provided by practitioners in the art tend to mimic various normal human actions. Thus, for example, dolls and toy figures have been provided which are able to walk, crawl, swim, skate, fight and so forth.
In addition to various activities performed by dolls and toy figures, the advent of relatively low cost, miniature microprocessors and speech chips by practitioners in the electronic arts have made possible additional sound features in dolls and toy figures such as talking, laughing, singing and crying to name a few. As the cost of such miniature speech circuit apparatus continued to decrease, it became more and more common for practitioners to include a sound feature.
In addition to the variation of activities performed and accompanying sound or speech, such dolls and toy figures have varied greatly in their appearance. Thus, dolls and toy figures have been provided which are very realistic in appearance while others have been provided which are extremely fanciful or exaggerated. Many dolls and toy figures assume appearances characteristic of monsters or other creatures while still others have been given cartoon character like appearances.
As dolls and toy figures continue to develop, the mechanism used to power the activity aspects of the dolls and toy figures evolved from simple manual manipulation to motor-powered apparatus. Motor power devices have included spring-driven wind-up type apparatus as well as battery-powered electric motor drive mechanisms. As a result of all this development, dolls and toy figures have been increasingly more sophisticated and complex. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,290,185 issued to Murakami sets forth a HOOK THROWING BOXING REMOTE CONTROL TOY ROBOT having arm appendages capable of realistic boxing movements. The robot includes a plurality of driver devices each having an electric motor. The robot arms are driven by the driver devices and are remotely controlled. Additional drivers are operative to further articulate and move the robot in a boxing-type action.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,039 issued to Balgin sets forth a ROPE-SKIPPING TOY having a torso supporting a plurality of drive cams and a motor power source. A pair of arm appendages are secured to a transversely extending driven shaft which in turn supports an elongated jumprope. As the battery powers the plurality of cams in the drive mechanism, the arms and the elongated rod undergo rotation producing a corresponding rotation of the jumprope. The doll is caused to rise sufficiently to allow the bottom portion of the jumprope to pass beneath the doll by a spring-loaded weight mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,955,311 issued to Lyons, et al. sets forth a MECHANISM FOR MOVING AN UPPER APPENDAGE OF A TOY FIGURE having a torso supporting a depressible button and further supporting at least one pivotal arm appendage. A movement mechanism supported within the torso operatively couples the push button to the movable arm to facilitate a sword/type movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,655,725 issued to Torres sets forth an ANIMATED FIGURE TOY having an upper torso with an arm member pivotally coupled to the shoulder portion thereof. The arm member is hollow and includes a rotatable assembly at the shoulder area operative in conjunction with a wrist portion. The arm and wrist cooperate to simulate the use of a hand held weapon.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,125 issued to Goldfarb, et al. sets forth a PUSH BUTTON DOLL having a body supporting a plurality of movable limbs. A drawstring mechanism is wound between the movable limbs and a centered disk such that pressing the center disk causes tension on the drawstring to move the limbs.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,608,026 issued to Newton, et al. sets forth a FIGURE WHEREIN MANIPULATION OF ONE LIMB CAUSES MOTION OF ANOTHER having a pivotally supported leg coupled to a doll torso which in turn supports a movable arm. An operative mechanism is coupled between the pivotal leg and the arm such that inward movement produced by squeezing the figure's legs together causes the arm to undergo a predetermined movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,046,987 issued to Djordjevic sets forth TOY BOXER ARMS for a doll having a torso for supporting a pair of arms in a pivotal attachment. A pair of rotational drive mechanisms articulate the figure's arms in a punching action similar to a boxer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,087,219 issued to Price sets forth an ACTION CHARACTER FIGURE having an upper torso coupled to a telescoping pair of legs. A pair of arms are further coupled to the torso and a spring is provided for urging the legs downwardly from the upper torso. A pivotal arm action is coupled to the biasing spring and when rotated, causes the retracted legs to be thrust downwardly whereby the figure jumps.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,649 issued to Dellibovi, et al. sets forth a FIGURE TOY WITH PUNCHING ARM MECHANISM having a spring-powered rotatable arm which is capable of simulating a striking action. The arm utilizes a spring motor with a ratchet and clutch arrangement which permits full winding while protecting the mechanism against damage due to excessive rotation of the punching arm in either direction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,011,448 issued to Asano sets forth a SPIRAL SPRING-DRIVEN DOLL TOY having a wind-up spring motor for moving appendages of a doll toy.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,272 issued to Molenaar sets forth a SOUND GENERATING DEVICE capable of producing a brief sharp snap or click sound. A housing supports a resilient flexure member or plate above an acoustic chamber. Finger pressure upon the mid-portion of the plate causes buckling of the plate between the ends to produce an audible snap or click.
While the foregoing described prior art devices have improved the art and in some instances enjoyed commercial success, there remains nonetheless a continuing need in the art for evermore improved, entertaining, and cost effective dolls and toy figures which provide a movement activity.